Environmental Issues in China’s Northeast By Sian Eiles, July 2014 Chinese environmental issues tend to centre around three particular issues: air pollution, water resources and desertification/ soil erosion. Air and water pollution are the most serious environmental problems in NE China Air pollution Air pollution is largely a result of China’s rapid period of industrialisation since the death of Mao and the economic reform era ushered in by his successor Deng Xiaoping. This has led to a growth in demand for power and in China this has been provided largely by coal, which has been the mainstay of electrical power generation as well as household energy for many years. Chinese domestic coal production is covered in another paper, but it is important to note the peculiarities of Chinese coal: which is that it is unusually ‘dirty’, particularly in the level of particulates it is likely to produce, along with a high sulphur content. Although the north east has seen a loss of industry since the beginning of the reform era the pollution problem still remains. In the south and the eastern coastal areas there been, over the past two decades, a movement away from ‘heavy’ industries such as steel smelting and car production. These are less energy intensive and have helped reduce pollution levels to some degree (although these areas now produce a lot of pollution via cars due to the increased wealth and increased demand for electricity, which is largely still coal fired). There is also a clear argument that pollution is an inevitable component of the development process, and that pollution levels reduce as economic wealth is more established. However, the manufacturing ‘shift’ has not occurred in the north east, where the traditional heavy industries have continued to dominate (although they have decreased in output). A problem for many Chinese cities, particularly in the north and north east, is smog, which can result in a range of health problems including bronchitis, reduced lung function, irritation of the eyes, inflammation of the respiratory tract (causing coughing) and aggravation of asthma. More people are admitted to hospital with cardiac disease or die on days with high SO2, according to the WHO. The WHO says chronic exposure to particulate matter in the air, which makes up air pollution, can contribute to the risk of lung cancer, and mortality rates in cities with high levels of pollution are 15- 20% more than cleaner cities. A WHO's Global Burden of Disease report estimated that 1.2 million people died prematurely in China in 2010 due to air pollution. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in July found that air pollution has caused the loss of more than 2.5 billion years of life expectancy in China – shaving 5.5 years off the average life expectancy. Fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) caused some 9,900 premature deaths in the Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei region (Jingjinji region) of China in 2011, and almost 70,000 outpatient visits or hospitalizations in 2011, according to research commissioned by Greenpeace China. PM 2.5 is tiny particulate matter made up of a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles suspended in the air, with a diameter of 2.5 micometres or fewer. The main components include: sulphate, nitrates, carbon, mineral dust and water. PM2.5 is more dangerous than PM10 (10 micrometres in diameter) because it can reach deep inside the lungs when inhaled and enter the bloodstream, according to the WHO. PM10 is more likely to be filtered out by the body’s defences, starting with our nasal hair. In the past year, levels of PM2.5 in some Chinese cities have reached 40 times the recommended exposure limit set by the WHO, which says the average daily concentrations of PM2.5 should be no more than 25 micrograms per cubic metre. Heilongjiang In Harbin, Heilongjiang, the smog incident of October 2013 was well documented. This was caused by a number of factors, but crucially the turning on of the city’s municipal coal fired heating system in the autumn.Other factors included weather conditions such as a lack of wind and low humidity combined with smoke from burning crop stubble after the yearly harvest. To top all this off, there is often a temperature inversion that means warm air forms a lid on smog and prevents pollutants dispersing into the upper atmosphere (which is why wind is key to dispersing smog). During this smog incident concentrations of PM2.5 were more than 500 micrograms per cubic metre in Harbin (compared to the WHO recommended limit of 25 micrograms!) Smog outside St Sophia Cathedral, Harbin Further references to Harbin smog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Harbin_smog http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/10/131022-harbin-ice-city-smog-crisis- china-coal/ Air Pollution in Liaoning Northeast China's Liaoning province, one of the country's traditional economic powerhouses, will continue to invest heavily to conserve its once heavily polluted environment, the province's governor said on Wednesday. As part of its ‘Blue Sky’ project, which aims to reduce smog that has plagued many parts of the country in the past two years, the province has invested significantly in thermal power and natural gas. In Shenyang, the provincial capital, more than 3,000 small coal-fired boilers have been replaced by a heating system with thermal power to reduce emissions in winter, Chen said. About 45 billion yuan is also being invested in building natural gas pipes in major towns in the province to reduce the use of coal and oil, two major pollutant sources. Jilin Water Pollution On November 13, 2005, two fuel towers exploded at Petrochina's facility in Jilin City, China, a petrochemical factory constructed in the mid-1950s. The refinery is owned by a subsidiary of the State-owned China National Petroleum Corporation. Although the explosions at the plant killed five people, triggered the evacuation of an estimated 10,000 people, and resulted in the spill of approximately 100 tons of benzene and related compounds into the Songhua River, approximately ten days passed before Chinese government officials issued the first public reports of the spill. In the interim, local bureaucrats reportedly told the people of Harbin, China (a downstream city of nearly four million) that it was suspending water distribution to perform routine waterworks maintenance. The spill continued to migrate downstream through multiple population centers and towards the Amur River in Russia. Fishermen continued to fish (and people presumably continued to drink from) the stretch of river between Jilin City and Harbin having had no information to suggest they should do otherwise. Ground Water pollution Nearly 60% of China’s underground water is polluted, state media has reported. The country’s land and resources ministry found that among 4,778 testing spots in 203 cities, 44% had “relatively poor” underground water quality; the groundwater in another 15.7% tested as “very poor”. Water of relatively poor quality can only be used for drinking after proper treatment. Water of very poor quality cannot be used as source of drinking water. Water quality improved year-on-year at 647 spots, and worsened in 754 spots Further information: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/23/china-half-groundwater-polluted Graphite Pollution in Heilongjiang (an additional topical piece of news) Graphite production in Heilongjiang province is under the spotlight following pollution complaints which could lead to restrictions in the world's leading producing region. Similar complaints in Shandong province only in December 2013 led to the temporary closure of all processing plants. Graphite dust has contributed to severe air and water pollution in Luobei County and Jixi City, creating what is being described as ‘graphite rain’. This has sparked complaints from both residents and business owners which has thrust the province, which produces 43% of the world's 420,000 tpa flake graphite in 2012, into the spotlight. Pollution is affecting the health of the local population as well as blighting the area’s farming industry, reports in China say. Furthermore, according to locals, failure to prevent unofficial mining operations has compounded these issues by destroying the region’s landscape. While recent government rulings have required companies in some areas to invest in more environmentally friendly processing infrastructure, the failure of local governments in regulating Heilongjiang’s graphite sector has caused resource depletion, an inefficient industrial structure and heavy pollution..